The Ugly Mug, a coffee shop located in the heart of Soquel Village on the corner of Soquel Drive and Porter Street, has been in operation since 1996. Owner Steve Volk has succeeded in creating the café he hoped for: a place where the community can gather for good coffee, conversation and special performances and art shows. Besides espresso drinks and tea, The Ugly Mug also serves gelato, pastries and light meals such as paninis.
Celebrating a softball or little league loss with a little homemade ice cream and fudge will surely fire up the team spirit. Ricks "Rather Rich" Ice Cream and Fudge shop is a gourmet microcreamery dishing up 40 flavors in freshly made waffle cones or real sundae glasses. A winner of numerous "Best of Palo Alto" awards and voted a top ice cream spot from everybodylovesicecream.com, this local lick spoon has the old vintage ice cream shop feel right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Sweet Factory is a candy store located in the Westfield Shoppingtown Santa Anita mall near the 10 Freeway and one mile south of the 210 Freeway. It offers hard to find, nostalgic, bulk candy, wholesale candy, chocolates, dried fruits, nuts, gifts as well as a large sugar-free section. Customers can mix and match in bags and the bulk candies are sold by the pound. Sweet Factory offers giveaways for bulk purchases, and it also carries items for weddings and special events.
Nuyo Frozen Yogurt is located on the corner of Sierra and Eureka, just minutes from the Roseville Galleria. The restaurant offers gourmet shaved ice and frozen yogurt. It features a wide variety of flavors and toppings. Additional nutritional facts, coupons and specials can be found on the Web site.
Sherri's sells freshly-made cookies that come in a range of flavors, from oatmeal to snickerdoodle. Located near the main entrance to Capitola Mall, the shop also offers ice cream and beverages. Look out for rotating specials, like 'buy three cookies, get one free.'
Sweet Factory is located on the first floor of the Northridge Fashion Center. It is the only bulk candy store in the mall and often draws quite a crowd. Sweet Factory offers more than 100 different types of candy. The candy is at a fixed price and sold by the pound, allowing you to take as much or as little of any kind as you want. The shop has a whole wall dedicated to chocolate, in all its glorious forms. If you have a sweet tooth and want to get your sugar fix, come on down to Sweet Factory. Its staff is friendly and the prices are affordable.
Chocolate Cow is nestled in the Mercado shopping plaza between La Salette restaurant and Foot Candy. Under the ownership of Stephen Pond, the shop has maintained a 21 year presence here in Sonoma. There are 17 flavors of ice cream and nine gelato flavors. As a refreshing alternative, they aslso serve Hawaiian shaved ice. This a hometown shop that is locally staffed. A favorite stop for locals and visitors of Sonoma. Pick a scoop with the family or treat the kid in all us. A gigantic variety of candy takes up a whole wall. A decadent chocolate case has a array of bon bons and chocolate dips they make on the premices. Among the fovorite toppings for ice cream are English toffee & peanut butter cups. Coffee and minkshakes are also served.